Play money stolen in heist at home

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Two men probably thought they hit the jackpot Wednesday morning when they barged into a woman’s apartment and stole a drawer full of cash.

To their surprise, the drawer was full of counterfeit money that had been printed up for two young girls to play with.

Police were sent to the 2500 block of Bluebird Court about 12:25 a.m. and spoke to a 28-year-old woman, who said she was sitting in a bedroom with her two daughters, ages 11 and 5, when two men armed with handguns barged in and demanded her money.

One of the men, wearing a “Scream” mask, pointed his gun at her and told her to get the money. The man grabbed her by the hair and led her to the living room, where she showed them the drawer containing the counterfeit cash.

The second man had his shirt pulled up over his face during the robbery and kept telling the girls to stay quiet and no one would get hurt. He also told the mother as the men ran out the door that he would kill her if she called police.

The men ran out the door southbound carrying the drawer.

As an officer was talking to the woman and her children, another officer found the drawer behind a residence on Roadrunner Court. Police did not initially realize the money was counterfeit, but when they found the drawer they realized there was a large amount of copied money scattered on the ground around it.

The woman went to the location and told police it was her drawer and that it appeared some of the paper was missing. That’s when she told police her husband made the money for her daughters to play with.

No one was injured and no one was immediately arrested.

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at 788-1530 or jayette.bolinski@sj-r.com.